A new study of the “Best Cities for Hispanic Entrepreneurs in 2024” is no bueno for those living in Michigan, where not a single city ranked in the top 100.
“In the top cities for Hispanic entrepreneurs, as many as 30% of businesses are owned by Hispanic people. While these cities also tend to have large Hispanic populations overall, the high entrepreneurship rates indicate that they offer business-friendly conditions,” WalletHub analyst Chip Lupo said. “In the top cities, Hispanic entrepreneurs can enjoy low corporate tax rates and good opportunities for growth.”
The opposite applies to cities ranked at the bottom of the list.
Go Ad-Free, Get Content, Go Premium Today - $1 Trial
The personal finance site examined 23 key indicators of success for Hispanic entrepreneurs to score 182 U.S. cities based on two categories: “Hispanic business-friendliness” and “Hispanic purchasing power.” The former accounted for 60 points, and the latter for 40 points, to generate an overall score used to rank the cities from best to worst.
Grand Rapids, Michigan’s top highest ranked city, came in 122nd, with individual rankings of 81st for business friendliness and 145th for purchasing power.
Detroit was the only other Michigan city to make the list with an overall ranking of 179th, ahead of only Cleveland, Boston, and New Haven, Conn. Detroit ranked 162nd for business friendliness and 179th for purchasing power.
Detroit’s abysmal ranking was due in part to its second highest Hispanic unemployment rate among the 182 cities analyzed.
Go Ad-Free, Get Content, Go Premium Today - $1 Trial
The poor showing is not surprising, as previous studies from WalletHub and other researchers have highlighted the economic struggles of all Michiganders under Gov. Gretchen Whitmer.
Hispanic purchasing power, for example, is tied in part to median annual income and the cost of living, as well as population growth. A WalletHub analysis of nearly two dozen U.S. metropolitan areas released in August found the Detroit-Warren-Dearborn MSA ranks third in the nation overall among “Cities with the Biggest Inflation Problems.”
Another WalletHub analysis from the month prior dubbed Michiganders in general “the most financially distressed people in the country” based on accounts in forbearance, credit scores, bankruptcy filings, and other metrics.
Yet another report last year from Whitmer’s Growing Michigan Together Council focused on the reasons for the state’s population decline, which has took a toll on Detroit for decades. While Detroit’s population grew by 1,852 between 2022 and 2023, it’s July 2023 population of 633,218 remained 6,257 residents below an April 2020 estimate, according to U.S. Census Bureau data.
Detroit’s population increase in 2023 was the first since its decline from a peak of 2 million in 1950, Axios Detroit reports.
Michigan is “lagging in median income, educational outcomes and attainment and have fallen behind faster-growing peer states in key measures of infrastructure, community well-being, and job opportunities,” according to the Growing Michigan Together report.
“We are losing more young residents than we’re attracting, and our population is aging faster than those of our neighbors.”
Those fleeing Michigan are moving to more promising states, including many listed at the top of the “Best Cities for Hispanic Entrepreneurs in 2024.”
“We are continuing to see the trend that Americans are moving to more affordable, lower-density areas across the country, with many heading to Southern states,” United Van Lines Vice President of Corporate Communications Eily Cummings said, noting the results of the company’s 47th Annual National Movers Study. “Movers are also becoming more strategic with their planning, as relocation continues to be driven by factors such as the price of housing, regional climates, urban planning and job growth.”
Eight of the top 10 best cities for Hispanic entrepreneurs are in Florida, while one is in Texas and another in Montana. With the exception of Santa Clarita, Calif., ranked 16th, and Nampa, Idaho in 15th, the rest of the top 20 are also located in the South or Southwest.